History of Magic: Cloak and Dagger
by Lizeth
Summary: Something's preying on people's souls and Jounouchi Katsuya intends to find out what, even if he has to recruit a stonyfaced CEO to do it.
1. Hollow

﻿

**Summary**: Something's preying on people's souls and Jounouchi Katsuya intends to find out what, even if he has to recruit a stony-faced CEO to do it.

**Notes**: Yep, this is an HoM sidestory, but it can stand on its own... of course it doesn't hurt if you know the main storyline. XD People who've been paying attention to my deviantart account already know about this fic.

**Disclaimer**: If wishes were horses, Kaibaland would only be a short ride away... or something like that.

* * *

**History of Magic: Cloak and Dagger**  
By Lizeth Hallington  
lizethDOTdeviantartDOTcom

**Chapter 1 - Hollow**

"Another one?"

"Yeah, they're dropping like flies."

"Damned idiots, whatever the hell they're doing."

Not far away, a blonde man grit his teeth, lips curling in disgust.

"Leaving a mess for us to clean up..." the first continued, tossing his cup in the trash, oblivious to the rising ire of their eavesdropper.

_Condescending, arrogant bastards!_ Straightening, the blonde took a step forward and-

"Jounouchi!"

-froze.

Katsuya Jounouchi, now 22-years-old, glared at the two conversing men before turning his back. Running a hand through his hair out of reflex, he answered tiredly.

"Yeah, chief?"

"Your partner's looking for you. I suggest you back her up," the older man said blandly.

Putting his best daredevil expression, Jounouchi opened his mouth to protest.

"_Now_, Jounouchi," ordered Captain Genritsu Mamoru, better known to the officers in the 9th division DCPD as 'Chief'. The man, though balding and in his late forties, still cut a very imposing figure.

"But-"

"Questioning my authority again?" the elder man asked, frowning, but not entirely serious.

"'Course not, sir." Jou grinned.

Sighing, the Chief gazed at the other two officers by the water cooler, now alerted to their presence, before looking back at the blonde.

"Straighten up, son, you're slipping."

Jou's grin melted off his face as lips pressed into a line. Years had taught him to erase his accent and his bearing, but he still had a tendency to slip back into "street punk" mode when he was tired or stressed... and currently he was both.

"...It's not your case, Jou," his superior said lowly, a hint of warning in his voice.

"Sir-"

"Drop it," the man ordered, shaking his head, and moved on.

Brown eyes dark, Jou tossed his own styrofoam cup in the trash.

_That's just it: I can't._

* * *

_- Kaiba Corp, 4:27 p.m. -_

Shinjin Mimori had a pretty decent job. She was secretary to one of the riches men in the world, she was well paid and healthy... but at the moment she dearly wished she'd taken her late mother's advice and chosen some safer line of work...

...Aerial stunts, maybe.

At twenty-two, Seto Kaiba was not a man known for his tolerance and _that_ was a massive understatement. Though normally cool and collected, he was frozen fury when provoked. If Seto Kaiba said he was not to be disturbed, he was _not to be disturbed_.

...And here she was, about to break that rule.

Heads turned as she passed, office workers looking up curiously at the man she reluctantly lead down the hall. Mimori took a deep, calming breath, aware of the amusement rolling off the man walking behind her. The poor bugger wouldn't know what hit him, insisting on seeing Kaiba-sama without an appointment.

_Your funeral_, she shrugged, then winced. _Maybe mine too_.

Stopping in front of an expensive looking door, the secretary raised her hand and paused, still hesitant.

"...Want me to do it?" the visitor asked, a small grin on his handsome face.

She bristled. The nerve of the man! "No thank you, I'm perfectly capable of knocking on doors!"

The man chuckled, raising his hands in defence. "Easy, easy. No offence meant."

Frowning and steeling her nerves, the secretary knocked.

"Kaiba-sama?" she asked quietly, peeking her head through the door.

Ice blue eyes instantly targeted in on her, flashing in annoyance. The woman tried not to cringe visibly.

"Excuse me, sir-"

Seto cut her off immediately with a raised hand, and turned his back to her, returning to the conversation he was holding over the phone. (**fanart**: lizeth. deviant art. com /art/Really-rough-adult-Seto-sketch-4531604)

The CEO's voice was cordially pleasant as he spoke to an associate, noticeably different from the brisk tones he often used in his own territory. After several moments the young CEO pinned his gaze back on the nervous secretary and set the phone back on the cradle.

"So, to what do I honor this visit to, Shinjin-san?" he asked, knitting his fingers together in front of him.

"E... uh..." the secretary winced, suddenly at a loss for words. "T-there's someone to see you sir."

An eyebrow slowly arched up. "I wasn't aware that I had any appointments at this time."

"Y-you don't sir," she squeaked.

"Then how could there possibly be someone to see me?" he replied flatly.

"Sir..."

"Show him out, Shinjin-san. I'm not meeting with him."

"But- but sir..."

Seto frowned and exhaled in annoyance. "Problem?"

"S-sir!" the woman breathed. "It's a policeman!"

Now the eyebrow rose fractionally higher.

Mimori nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand fell on her shoulder.

"I'll take it from here," the policeman said kindly, stepping into the office.

The secretary looked from one man to the other.

Seto sat, impassive as ever, staring at his visitor with a small frown.

The blonde police officer never lost his easy grin.

"Dismissed, Shinjin-san," Seto snapped, breaking his silent war with the other man.

"Hai, Kaiba-sama," the secretary said, and all but fled out of the room.

Seto leaned back in his chair as the door closed, a disgruntled expression settling over his normally impassive face as he regarded the officer. "Thank you so much for jump-starting the rumour mill. As if there wasn't enough speculation about me already."

"Yep, that's me. Grade-A pain in the butt."

Seto twitched. "And what, may I ask, brings the K9 squad to my doorstep?"

The officer snorted. "God Kaiba, you need new insults."

"But this one works so well," Seto said dryly.

"Asshole," Jounouchi grinned, leaning against the door.

"I have work to do, mutt."

"And we have some serious shit going down," Jou's eyes turned grim as he lowered his voice. "High Priest."

"Don't call me that," Seto said coldly, folding his reading glasses and placing it in its case. "That was more than a lifetime ago."

"Have you heard about what's going out there?" Jou said, sweeping an arm up.

"I hear a lot of things," Seto said. "Anything in particular?"

Jou's lips thinned. "Fine. I'll stop wasting your time. C'mon," he ordered, grabbing the trench coat by the door.

"What?"

"It's better if you see it yourself."

Seto glared coldly. "You expect me to just-"

"Kaiba!" Jou hissed, "I wouldn't have come if I wasn't at the end of my leash! ...And shut up, that's just a figure of speech," the blonde growled before the CEO could open his mouth to comment. "Yugi's out somewhere in England, Bakura-kun went AWOL ages ago and Malik's in Egypt... not like I'd ever ask _him_ for help anyway."

Seto stared calculatingly at the blonde. That list of names had one common thread... they were all Millennium Item holders.

"I don't have an Item, idiot."

"I _know_ that," Jou growled. "That's not it. Would you get off your high horse and move?"

Seto studied the blonde a moment longer. Jounouchi looked stressed, as if he'd been forced to pull all-nighters a few times too often. He hair had been cut short and he'd even lost his Osaka accent... barely recognizable as the teen he used to see hovering protectively around a certain vertically-challenged King of Games.

The CEO tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose and pressed the intercom. "Shinjin-san, hold all my calls."

"What? Sir?" she replied, startled, but Seto had already cut the connection. Blue eyes met brown.

"I'm driving," Seto stated dryly, digging out his keys.

* * *

"A homeless shelter?" Seto asked, arching an eyebrow as he pulled into the driveway.

"Yeah," Jou agreed, stepping out of the car, a fairly low-key Toyota.

The unlikely pair climbed up the stairs, the blonde pausing only for a instant to greet a plump woman by the door.

"Any change?"

"None," the woman sighed.

Jou grinned his trademark grin, nudging the woman. "Daijoubou, Seiko-san. You'll see."

"Aa..." the woman smiled waveringly.

Seto watched the exchange silently. "Jounouchi?" he asked lowly.

"This way," Jou beckoned, moving towards to back. "These people were found separately at random intervals. They have nothing in common other than the fact that they're all homeless. The police are passing it off a some kind of cult action."

"But you don't think so?" Seto asked tonelessly.

"I've been exposed to a few things the guys at the department haven't seen," he replied, opening a door.

The room was dim, the drapes having been closed. The air was stale. Beds were lined up in two rows with headboards pressed against the wall. About a dozen of them were occupied by still, shadowed shapes.

Seto hands curled unconsciously into fists.

_This feeling..._

Slowly, he walked up to the first bed as Jou moved to the bedside of a young boy who was staring catatonically up at the ceiling.

"These people..." Seto hissed, his icy facade cracking for the briefest instant. "They're all-"

"Soulless as hell," Jou finished grimly.

TBC

* * *

**End Notes**: Whheee~! It's Officer Jounouchi to the rescue! ;)

Y'know, I think Yugi's actually older than Seto? Granted, I don't know what _year_ they were born, so I can't be sure, but Yugi's b-day is in June and Seto's is in October. Jou's older than both of 'em. He's a January baby.

And while we're on the subject of ages, twitches apparently Pegasus was only 24 during the whole Duelist Kingdom thing. He's the same age as _Mai_.

Going to work on the main story now. Laterz!


	2. Follow

**Edited May 21st, 2009**

**Author's Note December 1st, 2004**: I've decided to name Kaiba's former self "Seth" for the sake of distinction. Also, this chapter does contain elements from the main story of _History of Magic _. It might help if you read that too, although it's not necessary.

**Warnings**: AE arc spoilers!!! I'll leave you to wonder how much is canon and how much is mine. :P I think I'm gonna ignore the Doom arc. #twitch# Too much heartache for Yami and Yugi. You just _don't _split up a pair like that. It's so, so wrong.

* * *

**History of Magic: Cloak and Dagger **  
By Lizeth Hallington  
Originally published 12-01-2004

**Chapter 2 - Follow **

_Brilliant golden light flashed in his hands, offset by a darker power boiling in his blood. Distantly, someone screamed... and was ignored. He focused only on the writhing, snarling shadow that sought to escape the grasp of his magic. _

_Then it stopped, the shadows bent, and he was victorious as he'd always known he would be._

_Drawing himself up, he sneered at the now-silent figure at his feet and gestured for the grim-faced guardsmen to take the prisoner -- the body -- away. What right did lawbreakers have? What mercy deserving? Kemet would be a place of order. He would see to it. _

_Quiet footsteps approached from behind; his name called by a familiar voice._

_"Seth..."_

_He turned and found red, red eyes frowning on him, solemn with disappointment. _

* * *

Seto Kaiba jerked up in bed, taking deep breaths as fists clenched around darkly-colored covers. Slowly, he took stock of his surroundings -- somehow both familiar and fuzzily foreign -- then closed his eyes and grounded himself in a way that bespoke of years of practice.

_Dammit,_ he sighed and ran a hand down his face, blue eyes glossy in the shadows of the room.

Voices and images and incomplete half-remembered spells wafted through his mind like restless ghosts... too indistinct to be real; too persistent to pass off as a figment of his imagination. Overlaying it all was a whirlwind of emotions he had never really allowed himself to feel, fragments of experiences he'd never had, and he'd have to tell himself over and over: _That is NOT my life_.

The dream-visions had peaked not long after Battle City, all the those years ago, but then they'd settled out... faded, as dreams tend to do, and Kaiba had been able to move on.

...And now they were back.

He bit back a curse formed in a language he wasn't supposed to know.

Silently, he shoved the comforter aside and padded barefoot across the cold wooden floor, stopping in front of the window. The Kaiba estate was hardly modest by any means, and he wouldn't be able to see the city through the trees no matter how hard he tried... But he could _feel_ it now. Domino City was his in the absence of its Pharaoh. His to watch over and his to protect.

Let the police and the firefighters do their job. Let the mayor kiss babies and the lawyers and judges argue about laws and by-laws... But the currents of the city, its powers and energies, had been weaving themselves into his consciousness ever since Mouto left for Egypt. Now, somehow, any and all magical threats were his to deal with: his duty to overcome.

Jounouchi, damn him, had known it subconsciously. Known it well enough to drag him into their latest, soul-snatching mess when Seto, with his repressed memories and fervent denial, had only just begun to become aware of it himself. Now it was all that much harder to ignore.

_Dammit, I won't lose myself to this,_ Seto growled with conviction, glaring darkly into the night-

-and recoiled violently, staring at the faint, almost non-existent reflection in the window.

For the briefest instant, his image in the glass had stared back through stormy-blue kohl-darkened eyes, set in a face that was far too tanned to be entirely his.

* * *

Kaiba Corp's main office building was dropping into a lull as work hours drew to a close, its employees oblivious to his presence as they headed home in small droves. On the other hand, Jou noted with mild amusement that Kaiba Corp's security team was watching him like a hawk. It wasn't often that a person wearing raggedy street clothes had the nerve to enter such immaculate surroundings.

All in all, the situation wasn't so different from the last time he was here. He'd been wearing his uniform then, and a police officer on grounds had been a foreign, _unwelcome_ intrusion. Security had not been pleased with having their territory invaded.

Now in a t-shirt, faded blue jeans and torn denim jacket, he was regarded with equal suspicion, if for entirely different reasons. His sister had once told him that he looked like an entirely different person when in uniform and it seemed she was right. No one seemed to recognise him as yesterday's surprise visitor.

"Hey," he greeted casually.

Kaiba's secretary looked up to see vaguely familiar blonde hair and brown eyes and frowned as she tried to place the face.

"Oh hello, um... Business hours are over, I'm afraid..."

Jou smiled. "No problem. I've got an appointment and everything this time. Under Jounouchi?"

Mimori eyed him skeptically.

"No, really," Jou wheedled, pumping the puppy-dog look for all he was worth. "Just check."

Two security guys hovered closer and Jou carefully kept his hands loose at his sides. No need to give them a reason to toss him out of the building before he had a chance to accomplish anything, ne?

Arching an eyebrow, the secretary checked and was surprised to find that his name was, indeed, in the books. In Seto Kaiba's own, precise handwriting no less.

_Must be a pretty important guy,_ Mimori mused. Most appointments were made indirectly through a secretary. That Kaiba-sama would set aside a time slot after hours and note it down himself meant that this 'Katsuya Jounouchi' was more than just a passing aquaintance.

"Alright. Go right ahead Jounouchi-san."

"_Sweet_," he said, and risked throwing a mocking salute at Kaiba's disgruntled security team.

"Be careful though," she said, although she wasn't quite sure what possessed her to say it, "Kaiba-sama's in a particularly bad mood today..."

The man stopped dead in his tracks, but instead of the expected apprehension, he made sound that could well have been a muffled snort. He turned and graced her with a grin.

"Honestly, with the face he pulls, how can you tell?" Jou asked, then shrugged carelessly. "But no worries. I come bearing gifts," he smirked, hefting a cardboard cup-holder and two tall cups demonstratively.

"Coffee?" Mimori asked perplexedly.

"The blessed wine of sleepless over-achievers," he confirmed. Approaching the door, Jou knocked twice and opened the door without waiting for a reply. Mimori's wordless protest died on her tongue as another voice filtered from the office.

"You're late," Kaiba's disembodied voice snapped from the other side of the door.

"You're still an ass..." Jou retorted easily, stepping into the office and closing the door behind him without a second's hesitation.

Outside of Seto Kaiba's office fortress, every employee within hearing distance had stopped to gawk at the strange blonde's gall.

"Damn," one of the security personal whistled, staring disbelievingly at the door, "Did he just mouth-off the boss?"

"Oh yeah... Where do we keep the body bags?" the other answered wryly.

Mimori twitched imperceptably and gathered her things as quickly as decorum would allow. _That's it, this is out of my hands._

If she was lucky, she might make it half-way home before anything exploded.

* * *

"I've been looking through international case files. So far I've managed to find 48 similar cases across Great Britain some five years ago," Seto reported without preamble.

Jounouchi frowned and perched on the table's edge. "Hell, that many?"

Kaiba's fingers darted across the keyboard. "They're not necessarily connected-" He paused when a cup was shoved in his face.

"Double-tall Americano. Quality coffee," Jou drawled, "You look like you could use it... Unless you prefer double latte?" he asked, brandishing the other cup.

Seto glared out of habit, but took the first cup without protest and continued his report. "Most of the victims five years ago woke up on their own after a few weeks, disoriented and suffering severe symptoms of withdrawal but otherwise fine. Alternatively, we know our people aren't going to wake up on their own any time soon."

The young CEO stopped typing and sipped his coffee. The only indication that he tasted it at all was a slight raise of the eyebrows. "Still, medical doctors were unable to find any trace of a drug in the victims' blood... and all of them ended up with a mysterious case of 'selective amnesia' not long after."

"Memory wipe?" Jou grimaced.

"Likely. There are still too many inconsistencies, but might be worth looking into."

"Kaiba, I'm not flying to England on a 'maybe'," Jou stated blandly, taking a gulp from his own cup. "I _do _have a day-job I'd like to keep."

Seto gave him a look. "Why go when Mouto's already there?" he pointed out with narrowed eyes. "Conveniently enough."

Jou soundlessly opened his mouth, put two and two together and buried his face in his hand with a groan. "Dammit, he just can't stay out of trouble can he?"

"Hm, we have our own problems," Seto grunted. "Our top priority right now is finding out who and how. Yugi will have to fend for himself."

The blonde rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Anything else?"

"I'll tell you when I find something."

"...Want to tell me how you managed to get into British police files?" Jou asked slyly.

"You'd be forced to arrest me if I did," Seto deadpanned.

"_Heh_. Y'know, six years ago you wouldn't have taken something like this seriously."

"Six years ago, something like this would be hounding Mouto instead of me." Seto's face remained perfectly neutral, but his voice was laced with annoyance... and something deeper that wasn't readily identifiable.

Jou couldn't suppress a smirk. "Welcome to the world of weird," he drawled, watching Kaiba contemplatively. There were a few moments of quiet keys clattering before he said slowly: "...You wanna talk about it?"

The air seemed to grow heavy, and the CEO seemed more agitated than ever.

"_No._" Kaiba snapped.

Jou grimaced and hopped off the desk. If Kaiba didn't want to talk about whatever it was that had crawled up his ass and died, it was just as well. The CEO wasn't exactly the heart-to-heart type and the conversation probably would have been awkward as hell. At least he'd made the offer. Kaiba was free to take it up any time his pride would allow. Meanwhile, if Kaiba wanted to avoid whatever was on his mind, Jou had no objections.

"Well then, while you were busy chasing paper-trails, I did a little legwork... Wanna give it a shot?"

* * *

"Aw, dammit, _why_ do they always have to run?" Jou breathed in annoyance as they pounded after a man in rather dirty street clothes.

"Hn," Seto smiled grimly but kept his remarks to himself. There were so many unflattering answers to that question, it would be unfair to voice a reply.

The blonde growled irritably, as if sensing his thoughts, but turned back to the matter at hand and raised his voice to shout: "Hey Spooky, why so spooked, man? We just wanna talk!"

"I don't know anything!" the man gasped, out of breath.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," Jou countered dryly.

"Do you know what they'd do to me if they found out I squealed? If they ever found me?"

With an extra burst of speed, the cop lunged and tackled 'Spooky', sending them both sprawling rather painfully. Flipping him around, Jounouchi grabbed the man by the collar and bared his teeth in a grin.

"A little bit of advice, Spook. Right now, you should worry about what _we_ would do to you."

Spooky squirmed and studied his captor carefully, weighing his options. The blonde man's bearing betrayed the fact that he was used to life on the streets, but not so low as the slums. A gang member gone solo, maybe. That made him dangerous. Anyone who defected from a gang would be hunted by his former comrades, and in most cases that made a person tight enough to snap given the smallest provocation.

Spooky's eyes slid from the blonde to the taller man suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Living as he did, there was always the chance that someone could come around the corner and nail you for a few measly bucks, but those guys were nothing more than common thugs.

Looking at the tall, dark-haired man and those cold, biting blue eyes, Spooky shuddered. That was a man who had killed with calculated precision, and would probably be willing to kill again if it suited his purposes.

"Any time now." the blonde was saying.

Kaiba took a step forward.

"T-They... They talked about harnessing souls or some mumbo-jumbo like that," Spooky stuttered, voice taking on a slightly hysterical quality. "The hell if I know. The hell if I _want_ to know. I don't believe in that sorta stuff. I'm not involved, alright?!"

"Old news, pal. Why are they doing it?" Jounouchi pressed, giving the man a shake.

Their captive choked off a laugh. "Why does anyone do anything? S'not that hard to figure out."

The blonde scowled. "That's all you got to give us?"

"Look, I told you what I know already, didn't I?"

Seto narrowed his eyes. Catching the look, the older man cringed.

"What else do you want me to tell you?!" Spooky exclaimed, sidling as far away from the CEO as he could. Jou's arm snapped out again and blocked his retreat.

Seto spoke silkily, "Something useful."

The man's eyes darted nervously around the alley. "Alright... Alright look: they said they needed stronger targets. Whatever they've been doing up 'til now, it- it wasn't what they were trying to do. They were defects... mistakes."

Jou made a furious noise in the back of his throat which Seto pointedly ignored. The mutt could growl his heart out, for all he cared. "What else?"

"I don't know! I couldn't understand the rest. I don't understand any of it!"

"What else?" Seto repeated, ignoring the man's pleas. "Anything, even the smallest detail. I don't care if you don't understand it, just repeat it."

The man mulled for a moment, brow furrowing with wary uncertainty. "There was... one thing they said a lot. I don't know if I got it right. It wasn't really a word."

"Spit it out," Jounouchi growled.

"It was... It was 'kekiwika'... something like that. That's all I know. I _swear _!" the man proclaimed, hands raised defensively in front of him. "Fuck, they'll kill me if they catch me... Or suck out _my_ soul."

Seto turned away slightly, his entire stance shifting from icy threat to disdainful dismissal. "Then you'd better start running."

Jou reluctantly took the cue to back off, and after a wary look at both of them the man took off down the street, running like his life depended on it... which it probably did.

The blonde's face was a mask of restrained fury and disgust. "A mistake, damn them. A friggin' _mistake_. They're not even trying and they're destroying lives without a thought."

Seto's expression tightened. "Monsters."

Jou gave him a startled look. "Yeah..."

"No," Seto snapped, "_Kekewy Ka_. They're trying to _extract _monsters," he repeated, his voice sounding strangely off. "To harness the power of human _Ka _, the shadow soul."

Jounouchi looked blank. "Hell, can someone do that?"

"The Millenium Rod can."

"They don't _have_ the Rod!" Jou exclaimed, "Or at least they damn well shouldn't! Whatever else Malik may be, he's not that careless."

"Which is why they're making mistakes. They're taking the whole soul."

"And you sound like that doesn't bother you one bit, you bastard!" Jou let out a furious breath. "Okay, back up the train a bit, buddy, and run it by me again, from the top."

Seto looked back over his shoulder and shot the blonde a sharp, venomous glare. "Where-" he said in a deadly hiss, "did you think monsters came from in the first place?"

For an excruciating instant, all of Jounouchi's thoughts ground to a halt... and then they exploded.

"_Human souls_?! Duel Monsters are human souls?"

"Just the one part, most of the time," Seto said with deliberate carelessness, and turned to leave.

"The _hell_, Kaiba. Get back here! I'm talking to you!"

Jounouchi stumbled to avoid collision when the CEO stopped abruptly, eyes burning with cold rage. Seto sneered. "What - part - _didn't_ - you - understand?"

The blonde drew back, mind on overload. "I-"

"What," Kaiba snapped sarcastically, "even after Pegasus stuffed our souls into Duel Monsters cards, you didn't make the connection?"

Brown eyes were wide with dawning understanding.

Game pieces. Over and over again. Wooden ones. Cardboard ones. The medium didn't matter. The result was the same. Even Yami Bakura had been able to--- And they'd been playing with human _lives_.

"...Shit. Oh _shit._"

_Oh god, Yug'. When you reach for the Heart of the Cards, what exactly is it that you touch?_

"It's a Shadow Game, pup," the former priest said bluntly. "A Shadow Game reveals your true nature; bars your soul... and there's always, _always _more at stake in a Shadow Game than most fools could ever hope to understand."

Kaiba's lips pressed into a grim smile and the chuckled darkly. "I suppose I should be glad Pegasus never thought to put any of us on the field. Maybe he just didn't think us _useful_ enough... Can you imagine if little Yugi had had to destroy his own grandfather in that duel?" he drawled, eyes taking on a malicious glint. "I wonder what he would have chosen-"

"Just shut _up_!" Jounouchi snapped suddenly, having had enough, grabbing the other man by the collar. "Don't you _dare_ suggest that..." he growled lowly, unable to finish the thought.

The scenario ran through his head like a twisted nightmare. _If_ Pegasus had had the ability to put Solomon Mouto on the field. _If_ Yugi had been forced to decide between attacking his grandfather's soul for the sake of the duel or losing his own soul, bringing the total of Pegasus' victims to four. Either way, he would have lost. Either way, he would have been unable to save the one he meant to save.

_God, what would Yami have done?_ Jou thought with a sinking felling in his stomach. If the spirit had been willing to sacrifice Kaiba's life to save Grandpa, what would Yami have done if he'd had to choose between his Light or the one his Light loved most?

_If, if, if..._

Suppressing a shudder, Jou grabbed Kaiba by the collar, intent on giving the man a thrashing when it finally clicked that Kaiba was being almost _submissive _. He hadn't fought back at all, and that was nigh well unthinkable. He studied the brunette's face carefully, taking in the emotionless mask and blank stare. Doubt began to fester.

"It actually bothers you, doesn't it?" the blonde asked quietly. "Why would you care?"

Closing his eyes briefly, Kaiba opened them again with a chillingly dead look. "If Pegasus had been capable of it, don't you think he would have used _Mokuba _against _me_?"

Jou released his hold and, after a moment, stepped back abruptly. Kaiba brushed past, smoothing his outfit back into perfection.

Both men stared the other down in stony silence.

Jou ground his teeth together. "Does Yugi know...?"

"I doubt it," the CEO said sardonically. "He's not the type to look for worst-case scenarios."

Jou gave him a look.

"Yami probably knows," Seto conceded with a nod.

Silence.

_Chew on that, mutt._

Jou did. He gnawed the idea full of holes, and he didn't like it.

"That is so _twisted _, man," he announced into the silence, as if it needed to be said... Then, "If you ever _breathe_ a word of this to Yug', I swear they'll never find your body, rich-boy," he said levelly, catching Seto's eyes with his own. It was a promise, not a threat, and he meant every word. Yami and Yugi didn't need that kind of doubt between them.

To his surprise, Seto only gave a brief smirk in acknowledgement, and Jou was actually glad to see it. They were back on familiar ground now. Almost. That dead look in the CEO's normally glaring eyes had been too unnerving for words.

Seto nodded once, looking as immaculate as ever, and began the long walk back to the car. Jounouchi followed behind with a scowl.

They were silent as they buckled in.

"God, when did you think this up anyway?" Jou finally sighed, running a hand nervously through his hair. The knot in his chest hadn't loosened at all.

Kaiba graced him with a misanthropic mockery of a smile, fingers turning the key in the ignition. "In my darkest nightmares."

* * *

Later that night, Jounouchi lounged on the living room couch of his modest apartment, head tilted back and eyes roaming distractedly across the peeling ceiling. The world made a little too much sense right now; weighed a little too heavily on the shoulders.

Knowledge was a burden.

But something was still out there, preying on those who couldn't defend themselves from magical attack, and he still had a job to do.

His deck sat alone on the cold surface of a low, glass table, all but radiating isolation. With a slow sigh, the blonde straightened and reached forward to rest his palm over top of the pieces of flimsy, illustrated cardboard...

The paper was warm to the touch.

TBC

* * *

**Next time **: Mokuba and friends run into something nasty and Seto pays a visit to the police station.

**End Notes **:

Well, there you go. It's still rough around the edges, but I wanted to get something up. It's been so long and people were getting a bit pissed at all the little spoilers. XD If I have time, I'll be fixing this up a little over the next few days, especially the scene with the secretary and the beginning of the Spooky hunt.

**Thanks to: **

Skyla Doragono, shiny-chan, hush the silent, Destiny's Dragon, QuickSilver5, Mimiheart, QueenOfHearts3, Yugi, Kaira-chan, shadowwaker, Rosz-chan, almalao, Darkness-Fire, Heather-Hezzer-and-Honaluki, Lethe Seraph, Yami) White Rain, JK Fie'r, kali, ryou's kitty, Saiyan Jedi, Maia Webmistress, pheonica, Curtis Zidane Ziraa, tiger-of-ice, Jaded Skye, Midnight Ice Wolf, Draco's Daughter, ChibiSerenity3, Reppu, Nightengale13, Katt26, lilmatchgirl, kitsune-hoseki, bakuralover-2008, sara, kiraistoocute, D&G, Yamilover2284, Flora, kesenaibs, The Cheshire Katt.


End file.
